Key Largo

by Mary
(Philadelphia)

In April I took my son to visit my mom in Hallandale Beach. From there, we decided to drive down to Key Largo for a couple of days. We drove down on Route 1 South, an easy trip of two hours or so.

We'd made reservations at the Rock Reef Resort, which is on the right not to much after you enter Key Largo on the bay side.

I chose Rock Reef because it seemed like a small but active family owned lodging, and that's exactly what it was. The owner was at the desk and was very friendly and helpful in giving us advice about the area. We had a lovely room and could walk right out to the small beach in the back. We walked through beautiful gardens of pink, purple and red flowers to get to the beach. The hot tub was also in the garden along with some pretty white tables and chairs so it was a good place to relax.

The beach had a swimming area, a boating area, a hammock or two, beach lounging chairs, and a tiki-hut type pavilion where you could hang out or have a picnic. We spent a couple of afternoons here doing some light snorkeling. Of course, for the real snorkeling it's best to drive three miles north to John Pennekamp State Park, an underwater snorkeling park. Enter for a small fee and you can snorkel on their beach. However, for the best snorkeling, pay for the boat ride out to the reefs. The colors of the coral and the fish are amazing.

We watched a couple of beautiful sunsets from our hotel beach. Then we went across the highway to the ocean side to eat at Mandalay Bay Restaurant right on the pier. A blue heron sat right next to us and watched us eat. From 5pm on, a musician with a steel drum sound entertains. When we headed back up to Hallandale after a couple of days we were well rested and had beautiful pictures of tropical lushness in our heads. I'd recommend it to anyone.